About Me:
Dr. Christopher Thoms completed his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in December 2004. His dissertation research was an organizational study of the United Kingdom’s Livelihoods and Forestry Programme that examined the role of development aid in shaping community forestry policy, practice and social outcomes in Nepal. Dr. Thoms first become interested in Nepal and its community forestry program as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 1997. He remains an active scholar. Specialties include: Natural Resource and Environmental Sociology, common pool resource theory, community based and collaborative natural resource management, social inequality and stratification, international development, and South Asia, particularly Nepal.
Academic Background:
Ph.D. Natural Resources and Environment. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor (2004)
M.Sc. Forest Policy. Colorado State University - Fort Collins (1997)
B.Sc. Natural Resource Management; Philosophy (dual major) - University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (1995)
Professional Experience:
Assistant Professor
St. Cloud State University
August 2010 – Present (2 years) St. Cloud, MN
Teach introductory Sociology, Social Problems, Environmental Sociology, Race and Ethnicity and Social Problems, Practice and Policy. Advise and mentor students. Serve the Sociology program and university through library committee, technology committee, and contingent faculty committee work. Research collaborative management of natural resources and neo-liberalization of nature.
Research Associate and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Sociology, Politics & Environmental Studies
Whitman College
August 2007 – July 2009 (2 years) Walla Walla, WA
Conducted research on collaborative watershed management in the Walla Walla Watershed. Taught undergraduate courses in Sociology (Social Problems, Environmental Justice, Complex Organizations), Politics (Natural Resource Policy); and Environmental Studies (The Human-Nature (Dis)Connection).
Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Environment and Justice
Colby College
August 2006 – July 2007 (1 year) Waterville, ME
Taught and co-taught undergraduate courses focused on the intersection between environment and social justice, including: Introduction to Environmental Justice; Conservation, Development and Social Justice; and Book Seminar: The Spell of the Sensuous. Conducted scholarship focused on natural resource management and livelihoods in Nepal.
Visiting Assistant Professor
Whitman College
August 2005 – July 2006 (1 year) Galesburg, IL
Taught undergraduate courses focused on the intersection between environment and society, including: Introduction to Environmental Studies; World Resources; Conservation and Social Justice; Senior Research Project.
Peace Corps Volunteer
February 1997 – May 1998 (1 year 4 months) Nepal
Community Soil Conservationist in Tulsipur, Dang district. Worked in and adapted to unfamiliar foreign culture with people of diverse backgrounds. Assisted government District Soil Conservation Office (DSCO) in planning. Wrote and submitted successful grant application for US/AID funding of 60,000 rupees. Coordinated a micro-enterprise project involving 119 households, the DSCO and the implementation team of a USAID project. Advised on issues of watershed management, soil conservation, grazing, community development and improved inter-office coordination.
Publications:
Thoms, Christopher A. 2011. Co-Constructing Community Forests in Nepal: Mutual Constraint in a Transnational Aid Network. Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research 3(3): 303-314.
Benjamin, Charlie, Steven R. Brechin and Christopher A. Thoms. 2011. Introduction to the Special Issue: Organizational Networks and Environmental Governance. Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research 3(3): 211-222.
Thoms, Christopher. 2009. Some Thoughts on the Democratization of Community Forestry in Nepal. Himalaya. 26(1-2): 25-32. (this volume is listed as 2006 due to a publishing backlog)
Thoms, Christopher A. 2008. Community Control of Resources and the Challenge of Improving Local Livelihoods: A Critical Examination of Community Forestry in Nepal. Geoforum. 39(3): 1452-1465
Thoms, Christopher A. 2007. Constituting Forest Communities in the Hills of Nepal. International Journal of Biodiversity Science and Management. 3(2): 115-125.
Thoms, Christopher A., Birendra K. Karna and Mukunda B. Karmacharya. 2006. Limitations of Leasehold Forestry for Poverty Alleviation in Nepal. Society and Natural Resources. 19(10): 931-938.
Thoms, Christopher. 2006. Conservation Success, Livelihoods Failure? Community Forestry in Nepal. Policy Matters No. 14: 169-179.
Thoms, Christopher A., Mukunda B. Karmacharya and Birendra K. Karna. 2003. Exclusion Isn't Easy: Lessons from a Leasehold Forest. Journal of Forest and Livelihood. 2(2): 48-54.
Thoms, Christopher A. and David R. Betters. 1998. The Potential for Ecosystem Management in Mexico's Forest Ejidos. Forest Ecology and Management. 103: 149-157.
Garten, Chuck, Michael Huston and Christopher A. Thoms. 1994. Topographic Variation of Soil Nitrification in Walker Branch Watershed. Forest Science. 40(3): 497-512.